To start this story, I need to go back about two weeks. When I was talking to my group of immediate friends, two of whom had recently joined Facebook, where they had become acquainted with a host of former classmates from elementary school, middle school, highschool and their respective universities (all six of us went to different universities). They were both chatting away about all the interesting stuff they had learned about our mutual common classmates, marvelling especially about all the people who had gone away, had amazing adventures then come back to our hometown. The two of them kept insisting that the other two in the group (me being one of them) also join so that we, too could catch up with these classmates. I kept resisting, saying that between The Royal Realm, this blog and my usual website readings, I had enough of the internet on my plate.
And then last week, while talking to some co-workers, Facebook came up in the conversation. Apparently all of them had joined, too -- even the most unexpected member of the team had a Facebook account. Despite the comment, "C'mon Alex, all the cool kids are on it," I resisted.
But fate has a way of working its magic ... When I went back to my desk, what should I find in my inbox, but an invitation from a university classmate to join Facebook! So I did because at that point people from three different groups in my life had brought it up in the span of a week.
And so last Wednesday the Facebook addiction came to me. The people that cropped up seemingly out of thin air and wanted to be my friend. The people whom I found while exploring other people's pages and wanted to be their friends. I couldn't believe how many people still live in our city, all within a 15-25 km radius of me, yet I never see any of them around while out and about.
It was exciting and fun to catch up with many of them. Even this guy who had a big crush on me in highschool but I was too busy chasing a tall, dark haired guy with a motorcycle to notice him. The guy who had the crush on me is now dating someone serious but we've had some good chats on my "wall."
The one thing that surprises me each and everytime I discover someone new that I went to school with is how many of them are married and have kids now. Some of them even have two kids! And the girls from highschool whom, had I been asked back then if they would be married now, I would've said "Heck, no!" are married. And as far as I can tell happily so. Some of these classmates are even married to each other.
Reading people's stories, their lives are much more exciting than mine! They are going out through the work week (okay, this makes me sound very, very lame!) and having drinks and partying. They have travelled extensively around the world -- with pictures of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Mayan ruins, Big Ben, the jungles of Kenya, South Korea and Japan, and a million other places with dreams of more places to go to. Meanwhile, I've been stuck here in Mississauga, taking the GO train back and forth to the Big Smoke ... It makes me wonder if life is passing me by and if I shouldn't be doing more with my life. If I should put my plans to buy a house on hold and take that money and go travelling instead. If I should get out there on a Tuesday evening and have a pint and hit the dance floor instead of crawling into my pyjamas and reaching for the remote control ... I want to have stories and pictures to share on my Facebook page, too. I want stories to remember when I am 80 and rocking myself to sleep in a chair staring out at the stars ...
And then last week, while talking to some co-workers, Facebook came up in the conversation. Apparently all of them had joined, too -- even the most unexpected member of the team had a Facebook account. Despite the comment, "C'mon Alex, all the cool kids are on it," I resisted.
But fate has a way of working its magic ... When I went back to my desk, what should I find in my inbox, but an invitation from a university classmate to join Facebook! So I did because at that point people from three different groups in my life had brought it up in the span of a week.
And so last Wednesday the Facebook addiction came to me. The people that cropped up seemingly out of thin air and wanted to be my friend. The people whom I found while exploring other people's pages and wanted to be their friends. I couldn't believe how many people still live in our city, all within a 15-25 km radius of me, yet I never see any of them around while out and about.
It was exciting and fun to catch up with many of them. Even this guy who had a big crush on me in highschool but I was too busy chasing a tall, dark haired guy with a motorcycle to notice him. The guy who had the crush on me is now dating someone serious but we've had some good chats on my "wall."
The one thing that surprises me each and everytime I discover someone new that I went to school with is how many of them are married and have kids now. Some of them even have two kids! And the girls from highschool whom, had I been asked back then if they would be married now, I would've said "Heck, no!" are married. And as far as I can tell happily so. Some of these classmates are even married to each other.
Reading people's stories, their lives are much more exciting than mine! They are going out through the work week (okay, this makes me sound very, very lame!) and having drinks and partying. They have travelled extensively around the world -- with pictures of themselves in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Mayan ruins, Big Ben, the jungles of Kenya, South Korea and Japan, and a million other places with dreams of more places to go to. Meanwhile, I've been stuck here in Mississauga, taking the GO train back and forth to the Big Smoke ... It makes me wonder if life is passing me by and if I shouldn't be doing more with my life. If I should put my plans to buy a house on hold and take that money and go travelling instead. If I should get out there on a Tuesday evening and have a pint and hit the dance floor instead of crawling into my pyjamas and reaching for the remote control ... I want to have stories and pictures to share on my Facebook page, too. I want stories to remember when I am 80 and rocking myself to sleep in a chair staring out at the stars ...
Labels: Life
Don't be crazy girl!
For what I can "see" you enjoy every moment of your life at most... for goodness sake you've just arrived from a Royal Gala, receiving the most wonderful cumpliments from the thoughest critics there are :D.
Not because you live your life differently from your colledge and university mates doesn't mean they're are super mega interesting and yours louzy or whatever.
I bet many of them have times that would give ten years of life to have waited a little longer to start the whirlwind of trips, debts, kids, savings etc etc.
So, my veredict is that life is (so) NOT passing by you... but somehow the "clock" is sending some noisy tic-tacs that you have to pay attention.
You could start planning some nice travelling and make some distant friends very very happy!!!!
"True contentment depends not upon what we have; a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander. ~Charles Caleb Colton"
Love,
Teresa
Oh yeah... So I gather that Facebook represents to you what Orkut represented to me when I started in it some three years ago.
I've found people in there that I thought would never remember me (and they even were able to remember the jokes we did!). People I went to elementary school and to junior high with, people from my first university, teachers, everyone...
Yeah sister, most of them happily married, most of them having kids, a lot of them living abroad with tons and tons of exciting stories to share and I'm here, the only exciting thing about my life being the fact that I moved out to live on my own 9 months ago. It gets annoying when the first question that they can ask is
"So, how's life going, are you married?" (even though your relationship status says "single" in bright bold letters)
Believe me, I know exactly how you're feeling, "When did my life become so boring that all I do is work??"
Well, at least we can be happy for something... We're not alone :)